Temporary housing at 1030 Old Victoria Rd. is coming in the near future, according to BC Housing. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

extensive debate

Nanaimo council approves revised oversight model for pending temporary housing facility

Sep 10, 2024 | 12:02 PM

NANAIMO — Requested revised operational conditions for a looming temporary housing development on Old Victoria Rd. were narrowly endorsed by Nanaimo City Council.

Following lengthy debate at the Monday, Sept. 9 council meeting, a yet to be formed Neighbourhood Integration Plan (NIP) was approved at the request of BC Housing, which stated it is “unable” to commit to its former model.

While councillors endorsed the new approach in a tight 5-4 vote, significant concerns were voiced, including a reduced four month rollout period in which the operator is supported through the NIP when the facility opens.

In a letter addressed last month to the City, BC Housing stated the prior Good Neighbour Agreement and Community Advisory Committee model stigmatized tenants and put increased strain on staffing resources for various front-line services providers and emergency services personnel.

Heidi Hartman, associate vice president of supportive housing and homelessness for BC Housing, offered councillors an overview of its revised temporary housing oversight plan.

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Hartman contended the NIP is “far more responsive” in reacting to community-based concerns and is customized to take local factors into account.

“It’s a very robust staffing level, we’ve opened up several HEARTH sites around the province and we’ve been finding that staffing level has been sufficient to be able to respond to the community and to better support the people.”

Hartman said many lessons and best practices have been refined over the last several years in more successfully running temporary housing, including which tenants are selected to move in.

“It’s very rare for us to move people directly from encampment into housing, we use shelter as the gateway into housing and do that careful assessment.”

Earlier this summer Nanaimo Council approved a three-year lease with the option for a pair of two-year renewals for a portion of City-owned land at the Old Victoria Rd. to be converted into a 60 unit modular housing site.

However, the endorsement was conditional on the Good Neighbourhood Agreement and Community Advisory Committee models being included.

About a month later BC Housing formally requested City Council to abandon the two conditions, a template which was used at previous local supportive housing sites.

Council split & emotional neighour speaks out
Coun. Ian Thorpe said he doesn’t buy BC Housing’s rationale to change course.

He took issue with not knowing how the NIP would function and potentially only one annual meeting to hear local neighbourhood concerns.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough. I don’t see this as more robust, I don’t see it as more responsive, I see a bunch of assurances that I just cannot take at face value,” Thorpe said.

The veteran councillor was joined by coun. Tyler Brown, Sheryl Armstrong and Hilary Eastmure who opposed the revised lease agreement terms.

Coun. Ben Geselbracht, a south end resident, spoke passionately in favour of backing BC Housing’s altered course.

“If there’s issues we know who to phone and people will address it and fix it and I’m assured that there’s enough people around here that will be able to be responsive of it,” he said. “There’s a whole fleet of people at the City, there’s a whole fleet of people at BC Housing plus the operator that should be able to go address the issues, with or without a Good Neighbour Agreement.”

Coun. Erin Hemmens, a fellow south Nanaimo resident, said she recognizes BC Housing is constrained by stretched resources and is trying the best it can.

“This is 60 units for people who are unhoused right now and if we say no to this then we better say no to all the others because they are also going to be contingent and so we’re actually saying no to hundreds of units if we so no to this.”

She was joined by Geselbracht, Mayor Leonard Krog, and coun. Paul Manly in favour of the NIP, ensuring the revised oversight model’s implementation and clearer path to the modular housing complex opening in a timely fashion.

Patricia Egeli lives across the street from the planned temporary housing site, telling councillors she was blindsided by the change of use for the property.

She addressed council, becoming emotional while explaining the fears she has.

“I’m a single, older woman. I want to feel safe in my property. I’ve been in my home for 42 years and I want to continue to a find (a) quiet, peaceful place for me to come home to,” Egeli said.

What happens next
Vancouver Island Mental Health Society will operate 1030 Old Victoria Rd., with BC Housing informing NanaimoNewsNOW it expects the complex to open late this or early next year.

The Old Victoria Rd. Site would be a referral-only service, offering 24/7 services with a variety of health supports and a daily meal program.

Otherwise known as the Nanaimo Navigation Centre, a communal washroom and kitchen setup is planned, as are on-site laundry services, an amenity room and office space.

In addition to 1030 Old Victoria Rd., a pair of other temporary housing projects are anticipated to open in the coming months.

A 50-unit modular supportive housing offering at 1300 Island Hwy. S at Maki Rd. and a 78-unit complex at 1298 Nelson Rd. (former Travellers Lodge) are both expected to open late this or early next year, according to BC Housing.

The influx of temporary housing in Nanaimo follows a memorandum of understanding struck early this year between the province and City of Nanaimo.

Existing and pending temporary housing is intended to provide a stop-gap solution until numerous permanent housing solutions from a 2020 agreement materialize throughout Nanaimo.

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